The only thing as sure as the next race is that there will be flux and change during the NASCAR season. And this year hasn’t been any different. This summer we saw crew chief shifts at some of the sport’s top tier teams – I even wrote about it here. From Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to Roush Fenway Racing changes were made in the name of improving performance, but has that actually happened so far?
Juan Pablo Montoya
Brian Pattie Average Finish: 17.6 Average Start: 16.5 Place in Points: 17
Jim Pohlman (9 races this season) Average Finish: 18.2 Average Start: 16.4 Place in Points: 19
Montoya and Pattie had been together since the mid-point of the 2008 season and had success together. It was apparent this season though the relationship was straining and with the EGR cars not as strong as they were last year, something had to give. And it was Pattie.
In the nine races since Pohlman took over Montoya’s performance, as evidenced by the numbers, has actually gotten worse. There’s certainly time for improvement before the end of the season, but so far this move hasn’t impressed. And with Montoya’s patience notoriously short we’ll see how long this lasts.
Martin Truex Jr.
Pat Tryson Average Finish: 19.6 Average Start: 17.3 Place in Points: 21
Chad Johnson (15 races this season) Average Finish: 16.2 Average Start: 17.7 Place in Points: 18
A slight improvement is perhaps better than no improvement at all. Pat Tryson, a seasoned and successful veteran of the sport, left Penske Racing at the end 2009 to join Truex at Michael Waltrip Racing. The move was highly touted but a less than successful pairing.
Chad Johnson has been atop the pit box for 15 races and in that time the two have had slight improvement in their finishes and made up three spots in the points. I suspect he’ll have ample time to prove himself in the role.
Greg Biffle
Greg Erwin Average Finish: 16.8 Average Start: 17.9 Place in Points: 14
Matt Puccia (10 races this season) Average Finish: 16.9 Average Start: 13 Place in Points: 14
This was another duo that had been together for a long time and found quite a bit of success. This season though was a struggle and like Montoya and Pattie chemistry was waning. Ultimately, from what we heard, Erwin walked.
Matt Puccia, a long time fixture in the Roush organization and a reasonably successful crew chief in his own right took over 10 races ago. And the move has been negligible. Biffle didn’t make the chase and they have seen no improvement in their average finish and no change in their points standing. Was Erwin the problem? You tell me.
Jeff Burton
Todd Berrier Average Finish: 20.8 Average Start: 19 Place in Points: 25
Lucas Lambert (9 races this season) Average Finish: 18.1 Average Start: 20.7 Place in Points: 24
Todd Berrier joined Burton at the end of the 2009 season after stints with Casey Mears and Kevin Harvick. The two looked great at the end of 09′ and had a decent year last year including a Chase appearance and six top-fives. Then came this season. After 19 races without a single top-ten RCR’s leadership had seen all it needed to see.
Lucas Lambert’s performance in the top job has looked pretty similar to the 19 races prior. One thing Lambert was able to do that Berrier wasn’t, was help Burton to a top-ten finish. This is an interesting one to watch.
AJ Allmendinger
Mike Shiplett Average Finish: 17.1 Average Start: 15.1 Place in Points: 16
Greg Erwin (9 races this season) Average Finish: 16.3 Average Start: 15 Place in Points: 15
Mike Shiplett had been through a slew of drivers (and owners for that matter), during his time with RPM and its predecessor organizations. And during that time there was only fleeting success.
Erwin’s addition was interesting, but color me surprised performance hasn’t picked up much. Erwin has proven himself to be a capable crew chief, but things are apparently not quite working at RPM. We’ll see if they improve.
It’s interesting none of the moves made so far this season have had much of an impact on performance. Like all things though changes in leadership sometimes take a while to have an impact. I think the jury is still out on all of the crew chief swaps so far this season but after 9-15 races the picture is becoming clear. Stay tuned.
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For much of the early part of the season it was Carl Edwards who took up all the oxygen as the chief target of 2012 speculation. And after months and rumors, Edwards ultimately re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing.
Up next was Clint Bowyer who looked early on like another candidate to re-sign with his existing organization. Then came the end for Red Bull Racing and revelations that Bowyer was in advanced negotiations with the team. After that Bowyer began earnest negotiations with Richard Childress Racing, but in recent weeks those have fallen apart.
This weekend both Bowyer and team owner Richard Childress commented on the driver’s contract.
Childress said:
“We’ve tried and we’ve worked really hard to put the deal together to keep Clint. It’s not 100 percent off the table but it’s getting tougher and tougher as the day goes by.”
Bowyer, responding to Childress’ comments, said:
“That’s fair. Just working on everything. That’s the biggest thing, trying to get everything done as far as the future. There’s opportunities and stuff we’re trying to weight out.”
With the window for re-signing about closed it looked like Bowyer had a couple of alternatives in Richard Petty Motorsports, Michael Waltrip Racing and potentially Roush Fenway and Joe Gibbs.
Then on Wednesday Lee Spencer at FoxSports reported that RPM co-owner Andrew Murstein said the organization was no longer in discussions with the driver. She also reported JD Gibbs said a lack of sponsorship made pursuing Bowyer a “non-issue.”
So Bowyer appears to have burned the bridge at RCR and is left without opportunities at RPM and JGR. What’s available to him is a potential ride at MWR and the off chance of a ride at RFR. If I were Bowyer, I’d be reconsidering my managment right now.
He’s potentially leaving behind an organization with a combined 99 Cup Series wins and six Cup championships – with one driver currently tied for the points lead – and his only serious option is a team with two wins in five seasons of full-time Cup competition. Yikes.
Even if Roush is an option you have to believe with the existing holes the team has in sponsorship for several of its drivers, it wouldn’t sign another, presumably to take over for David Ragan, without serious dollars backing said driver.
There is absolutely a chance something else could come together – perhaps even a return to RCR – and there has been the long standing rumor that Bowyer has sponsorship from 5 Hour Energy (sponsorship that I suspect is not worth much if this rumor is true) but with the season winding down, Bowyer’s options are running out.
With just 10 races to go until we crown a champion, this will definitely be a storyline to keep an eye on. I wish Clint Bowyer good luck in finding a situation that’s even in the neighborhood of the one he has now.
Just past the halfway point of the season, with just seven races until the Chase begins, several teams have decided now is the prefect time to start making some serious changes on the ground.
Roush Fenway Racing announced last week Greg Erwin was being replaced by Matt Puccia as Greg Biffle’s crew chief. The #16 team hasn’t performed as well this season as past seasons and the strain was apparent between Biffle and Erwin. Prior to this past weekend the pair had just one top-five and five top-10s – they sat 14th in the points.
With the first week under their belts, Puccia led Biffle to a 16th place finish – not a rousing start, but we’ll give the pair a little more than a week to make any judgments.
While Greg Erwin was out of a job for a few days, he found a new home just down the block at Richard Petty Motorsports, working with AJ Allmendinger. Allmendinger was with crew chief Mike Shiplett for most of the last three seasons. Together the two have scored three top-fives, 14 top-10s and one pole. Their best full season points finish is 19th, last season. The two haven’t had a bad run together, but things could definitely be better. Erwin has the experience and success at the sport’s top level, but does he have the support at RPM? Time will tell.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing announced this week Juan Pablo Montoya would get his fourth different crew chief in less than five seasons. The driver’s been with immediate past crew chief Brian Pattie since the midway point of 2008. This was after stints with Donnie Wingo and Jimmy Elledge. Together, Pattie and Montoya have scored one win, 16 top-fives and 39 top-10s. These are solid statistics for Pattie to be proud of.
This season though has been a struggle for both EGR teams. And after issues like last season’s Brickyard 400, Montoya’s and Pattie’s relationship has been less than great. If there is a lesson to learn, it’s that when Juan’s not happy, no one’s happy.
Is Jim Pohlman any more the answer to Montoya’s performance issues than Elledge and Pattie were? Again, only time will tell.
So how do you feel about the crew chief shifts? Do you expect swift performance improvements? Any of the moves better than others? Let us know!
By winning at Michigan Denny Hamlin became the 10th different winner of the season. His hard fought victory over Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and his own teammate, Kyle Busch, added to what’s been a thrilling season marked by a diverse cast of characters.
Adding to that cast Sunday were Paul Menard and Landon Cassill.
In his fifth full Cup Series season and first at Richard Childress Racing, Menard has been an aberration. Through 15 races he’s scored three top-fives, four top-10s and he sits 16th in the points. Compare that to two top-fives and seven top-tens in the four full seasons prior. The cherry on top, so far this season, is a fourth place finish on Sunday- a solid weekend bookend to his fourth place finish in the Nationwide race on Saturday.
Menard, who struggled through the end at DEI and went through the turmoil of Yates and RPM last season, is in the first truly stable ride of his career and so far it looks like he’s making the most of it.
For Cassill, who has yet to have a full season ride somewhere, Sunday was a bright spot. In the last couple of years he has fought to just have a seat – often times that’s meant starting and parking for some of the sport’s bottom of the barrel teams.
This season, James Finch has let Cassill actually finish races and while there hasn’t been a ton to write home about, it hasn’t been all bad. Sunday, for instance, Cassill out drove teams much better funded than his for an impressive 12th place finish.
For Cassill, these opportunities provide him a stage to showcase his talent and hopefully get noticed by a better funded organization.
With good finishes from Menard and Cassill, our 10th different winner of the season and possible penalties on the horizon for Joe Gibbs Racing, feel free to use this as your Michigan sound off post.
Can we not all recognize that the Raikkonen to NASCAR story with Frat Boy Gillett is an April Fool’s joke?
Welcome back to NASCAR Foster … if you couldn’t tell, we didn’t miss you.
This marriage wasn’t completely surprising – in the midst of his team going up in flames at the end of last season Gillett was seen at Homestead parading Raikkonen around the RPM haulers and the garage. The ego and lack of self-awareness that apparently accompany Gillett is galling.
Remember this is the guy who, with his father, almost cost hundreds of people their job and almost forced Richard Petty out of the sport – all just a few short months ago. Turns out it’s not such a good idea to leverage a less than profitable sports team to the hilt (let us not forget Gillett did this same thing with Liverpool FC). In the annals of NASCAR history, the Gillett’s are just below Bobby Ginn. Needless to say their reputation is less than spectacular.
Disgruntled former Gillett partner Ray Evernham agrees. He told Sirius Speedway’s Dave Moody:
“I honestly can’t believe it will happen… I can’t see how (the team) will be able to get parts and pieces. I can’t imagine anyone doing business with (Gillett), considering the past history… That’s just my opinion, but the facts are there. There are a lot of people out there who are still owed a lot of money. It’s a joke.”
Money up front perhaps? I figure if Kevin Conway can keep finding rides, someone will sell Foster Gillett equipment. As unfortunate as it is, I suspect we’ll see a Kimi Raikkonen driven, Foster Gillett owned truck in the not too distant future.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got no beef with Kimi Raikkonen coming to NASCAR – the more the merrier. Unfortunately, with the memory of last season all too fresh, it’s a different story with Foster Gillett. As the old adage goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
All I can say is, truly, absolutely, stunningly, unbelievable. An April Fools joke indeed.
Richard Childress Racing entered the 2011 season with some serious momentum. All three of the team’s drivers finished last season in the top-12 in points – Jeff Burton in 12th, Clint Bowyer in 10th and Kevin Harvick in third – and they had five wins in between them. After a disastrous 2009 season, it was a quick return to glory.
Then this season started. And what have we seen from RCR? Well, not much.
Clint Bowyer had a decent run at Daytona, leading 31 laps, but ended up finishing in 17th. Add to that finishes of 27th, 35th and a season best 15th and Bowyer sits 30th in the points. His teammate Jeff Burton isn’t much better off. He’s averaging a finish of 25.8 – he hasn’t had a finish above 20th – and he sits 24th in the points. And how about Kevin Harvick? He’s had bright spots at Phoenix and Bristol (4th and 6th) but sits 15th in the points thanks to 42nd and 17th place finishes.
Then there’s RCR newcomer Paul Menard. This is a guy who’s in his fifth (full) Cup Series season. Prior to this year he had just two top-fives and seven top-10s in 147 starts. His best points finish? 23rd last season.
This year? One top-five and two top-10s so far. He’s sitting 5th in the points. Who would have thought after four races it would be Paul Menard who was sitting at the head of the table at RCR? I certainly didn’t.
Last year Richard Petty Motorsports brought together Menard and crew chief Richard “Slugger” Labbe. Menard saw big improvements over the season and when the driver announced his move, Labbe and a good portion of their crew weren’t far behind. Those relationships are paying dividends this season.
As the obligatory caveat emptor I’ll say there’s a lot of season left, but so far Labbe and Menard look pretty darn good (not to mention Richard Childress). With teammates like Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, Menard has a solid support system, not to mention some of the best equipment in the sport. All things considered, he’s definitely one to watch this year.
Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Petty Enterprises, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
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If you need proof of that recount the last 48 hours.
On Monday and Tuesday we were talking about Kasey Kahne, Richard Petty Motorsports and the frustration that permeated that relationship. Then Wednesday night Kahne was unexpectedly released from the team and Thursday, as Lee Spencer wrote, “the house of cards is finally falling for George Gillett’s Richard Petty Motorsports.”
So, how did this happen? This is an organization with four fully (or mostly) funded Cup cars with ties to one of the biggest organizations in the sport. I suspect George Gillett’s other forays into sports ownership can provide some clarity.
Whatever the case, this is yet another glaring example of the lack of stability and job security in this sport (though I suppose job security is lacking elsewhere too). Nothing is certain here. And unfortunately, more often than not it’s those who can least afford it who pay the price.
In the midst of all the chaos today, you had to feel for those who are now wondering if they’re going to have a job next week. I suspect seldom few knew what they were getting into when they got in their cars that morning to drive to work. I guess in these situations though that’s how it goes.
In this bad economy, there are plenty living on the edge of survival. Just look to the Nationwide and Truck Series and the slate of teams who have complained about money or a lack of sponsorship. Many are just one short step away from oblivion.
Despite that and the issues George Gillett has had with money, and even with the $90 million loan default, it was still surprising to see a team like RPM in a situation like this.
In NASCAR your job is only as good as the team you work for and the money behind it – and even then there are a lot of other factors that come into play. Here’s hoping the employees (including the drivers) at RPM have a good outcome.
Filed under: Kasey Kahne, NASCAR
Just as I was about to complete and publish a post on Wednesday night about Kasey Kahne and his lame duck situation, the story broke that Kahne had been released from Richard Petty Motorsports. And just like that, my 600 word post was out the window. Oh well. I then spent the next 30 minutes or so watching the story develop on Twitter (follow us @nascarinsider - shameless plug over), along with all the reactions from fans, media, and the like. And what I’ve decided, after all that has transpired this season and over the last four days specifically, is that Kahne’s release needed to happen as soon as possible.
What I had written about in my other, now defunct, post for Thursday was that in a nutshell, Kahne brought this lame duck situation on himself. His days as the top driver at RPM were over the second he announced his intentions to leave. He was still going to get good stuff, but the full brunt of RPM’s resources would now be focused on their future. If that angered or frustrated him, he really had nobody to blame but himself.
With that said, I understand his frustration over part failures and bad performance. He wants to run well, and from his perspective, the cars were not letting him do that. I would have been mad too.
But, even with how the season has gone and knowing what transpired at Charlotte, I have to say this: you absolutely never quit on your team. His guys have been behind him all season, and to quit on them in a moment of anger is a complete slap in the face. I don’t care if he was sick or not. Kahne is a very talented driver and has a very bright future with Hendrick, but in this case he was wrong. And it was his refusal to get back into the car after it was wrecked that sealed his fate at RPM.
In the end, this move benefits all parties involved. RPM is rid of an unhappy driver who wanted out anyway, and Kahne gets to make his move to Red Bull early (which we all expect will happen at any second).
What will be interesting to see now is just how well Kahne is able to perform in the Red Bull equipment. They have struggled all season with their own performance woes, and now Kahne will have just a few races in 2010 before taking over for another lame duck season in 2011. Not exactly a positive combination of factors.
In the end, for me personally anyway, I will remember this situation more for Kahne’s antics at Charlotte than for RPM releasing him early. If a driver wants his guys to fight for him every week for 36 weeks, he must do the same for them. It’s this ability to fight through adversity that separates the good drivers from the great drivers.